Everybody's Talking Oil. I Thought It's the Filter That's Important...
 

I see lots of people talking about changing their oil. Here's what I thought was important:

Oil filters have bypass valves, right? A certain amount of unfiltered oil will pass through that valve. As contaminents build up, the filter gets clogged, and more oil (and dirtier oil), bypasses the filter.

So I thought, if you use good oil, you could just leave it in, and replace the filter for the best results. If you just replace the oil, you're wasting your money, and if you replace both oil and filter, you're spending more than you really need to.

Anybody subscribe to this theory and change their filter but leave the oil in the engine?

Is this easy to do on an R56?

And since it's such a haul to my dealer, are there any filter that meet MINI's specs at a local parts store? What brand? I'm at 3000 miles, and figured I'd change the filter to something I can get easily now, and in about 5000 miles, I'll have a MINI filter in to keep me until the scheduled change comes up.

Comments or opinions?

If it's a haul to a dealer contact Classic in Ohio or Morristown in NJ and have them ship OEM filters to you.

I would say that both the filter and oil are important. In theory a good synthetic base oil could last beyond 15K, but the additives in the oil might not and that could cause problems. Commercial fleet vehicles regulary run their oil beyond the mileage of passenger vehicles, but they send the oil off for analysis. They also have economy of scale because they use so much oil. There are also warranty issues if you don't follow the manufacturer's recommendations. I would recommend using UOA to verify the safety of doing extended oil change intervals before actually doing it.

Many environmental factors come into play as it pertains to oil changes. In the southern U.S., high heat conditions will contribute to the oil breaking down faster than in the Northern U,S,

In the Northern U.S. extremely cold temperatures will actually cause the oil filter to bypass more contaminated oil during warmup thereby potentially increasing the likelihood of faster engine wear.

Pile dusty conditions into the mix and it amplifies the need to change oil more often.

Then you have driving styles and manners. Romi will need oil changes far more often than most cars as she only gets to get above 40MPH once a week and those 40MPH jaunts to work involve 7 stops for 1.2 miles. There is a high probability she will still have moisture in the oil after those drives, especially when it gets cooler.

Whereas the person who drives mostly freeway speeds will be able to extend the miles they drive as there is simply less by-pass of the rings at higher, steady RPM's.

There is no one number to go by which covers all the possible conditions a car can suffer through as to when is the best time to change the oil. For some, like me, it is time based, rather than miles based, as an example.

Oil and filter at the same time.
NAPA has filters to fit the R53. Not sure about the R56.

Suggest a SEARCH
 

Mister Cooper (hey, that's good! :thumbsup: )

Good questions good thoughts. This subject has been soooo knocked around various strings on this forum. It's like the beast that refuses to die. But yeah it's important. I strongly suggest you use the SEARCH line, and go for OIL CHANGE and find those past loooong strings that have covered about every DROP of this subject. There's some great info from some great people...hey, I even put in my buck and a quarter's worth. I believe you'll find everything you want to know...and MORE...and MORE.:wink:
I bought my filters for DIY from an outfit in Florida. They claim they are slightly higher spec, but irregardless, the price was fair. Sorry I can't give you the name of the outfit. They're somewhere around this group, I know that. And I mentioned them in my part of the string. You'll find the DIY oil change pretty darn well laid out by Robin Casady with nice photos and all, and I threw in my version too. All the best, and motor on...
And I concur...FILTER AND OIL. BOTH. But as you'll see when you find the strings...opinions DO VARY. Oh, yes!! Enjoy your Mini, give it love, drive hard, have fun.

I believe that you are wrong on your belief that oil filters have a bypass valve for the purpose that you describe. The filter filters 100% of the oil normally. If present the oil filter bypass valve comes into play if the pressure drop across the filter is so much that the engine would be starved of oil. The filters are available at www.minimania.com

Change both oil and filter
 

Simply as a practical matter, if I'm going to jack the car up and make a mess I change both the oil and filter. Even the best synthetic isn't expensive enough to dissaude me. I'm doing one change between dealer changes. This may be overkill, but I 'feel' better and I only have to do one change a year and the the dealer does the other.

I agree. I was just wondering about it. I just changed my oil and filter at 3000 miles. Since winter is coming, the next change will probably be the free one MINI provides in March;

I pointed out a sale on Castrol 5w30 on another thread and was chastised for buying 'crappy' US made Castrol synthetic, claiming that only German made Castrol was a true synthetic. As it turns out, MINI branded Castrol is the stuff made in the US (at least in the US).

There does seem to be a difference on opinion on what MINI provides with free maintenance. One person said one year, or what computer says for the first year, but only what the computer says from that point on. I don't drive 15,000 miles in a year, so would be interested in what MINI will actually provide as part of free maintenance... Anyone know for sure?

There is no such thing as free: the cost of 3 years maintenance is included in the purchase price of the vehicle. You've already paid for it.

I work in the oil and gas industry and I can assure you there is no difference. Oil companies are international businesses. Bet the detractor was european :roll: or one of those anal purists that seem to infect every recreational pursuit.

The maintenance agreement is detailed in the paperwork you received when you purchased your MINI. Read it.:nod:

Change your oil and filter. Oil is the lifeblood of the engine. It lubricates all the rotating assemblies and moving parts. It flushes away contaminates where they are captured in the filter. Eventually the useful service life of the oil will end and it will begin to lose its ability to effectively lubricate. You spent 20-30k on the vehicle. Does it make sense to try to save a few bucks on maintenance and risk shortening the life of the engine or experiencing a catastropic failure?:no:

Change your oil and filter at the manufacturer's recommended intervals (or sooner depending on driving conditions). Check the oil level at least once a month (or more often). Enjoy your ride:wink: :thumbsup:

No need to be snooty. I did read it, and actually it's not too clear. So I called MINI. Here is the answer:

If an oil change is not indicated by the CBS, the oil will be changed on a yearly basis, but the counter will not be reset. So if you drive 12,000 miles in the first year, you'll get a change at the end of the year. If the sensor says you need a change at 18,000 miles and that falls during the second year, you get it and the sensor is reset.

So you'll get a change when the sensor says so, or within a year of your last oil change, whichever comes first.

This is according to the customer rep that answered the phone at 1-800-ASK-MINI

+1:thumbsup:

I didn't mean to sound snooty. My apologies.:thumbsup:

BTW, there is no bypass valve on the Prince engine. An on-demand oil pump prevents too much oil pressure from being generated, obviating the need for it, but making changing the filter seem very important to me.

If you are worried about the BMW service interval (I am, but I have come from diesels, which present a different problem to the oil.) I think that you should change the oil as well as the filter. The engine does not take much oil, and since you are changing the filter anyway, it does not increase the cost that much. If it was an 11quart diesel, oil analysis might make more sense.